


Is that you, my Prince?

by ScripStrel



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alternate Universe - Theatre, Coughing, Crushes, Fairy Tale Retellings, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Genderswap, Into the Woods References, Into the Woods Spoilers, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 14:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17469452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScripStrel/pseuds/ScripStrel
Summary: And as for Rapunzel...He (yes, he) has apparently been coughing up a lung lately.





	Is that you, my Prince?

Jeremy braces himself as his body is torn through with another hacking cough. He swallows, wincing, throat scratchy and sore. It’s probably also swollen, considering how weird and tight it feels. Damn it. He has rehearsal every night this week, too.

He can almost taste the vocal strain on the back of his tongue, aggressively aware of the fact that he shouldn’t be talking, which is kind of hard at school and with his nuclear war zone of a friend group. Double damn it.

Holy shit, Christine will kill him. He’s not sure what he did to ruin his voice. In fact, he’s half-sure he just caught the cold Michael had a few weeks ago, but that won’t stop her from mother-henning him to all hell, and that’s if Reyes doesn’t kick him out of the musical for his inability to talk, much less sing. His lucky streak is about to be broken.

To be fair, maybe he’ll be lenient because this is the first time they’ve done a musical in like a decade. And yeah, it’ll probably attract a better audience than yet another rendition of Matrix-style Titus Andronicus or some bullshit, but Into the Woods is a weird show. And that’s without getting into messy symbolic details or character deaths. Who actually thinks to combine a ton of super dark fairytales and also make Prince Charming a massive fuckboy? And even more bizarre, Reyes has decided that, in his latest attempt to appeal to the youths, he’s gonna add a canon gay relationship. Which is cool, but—well.

Cut to Jeremy: playing Rapunzel for some unholy reason, despite her being the highest, most operatic soprano in the thing (they are lowering it an octave so he doesn’t straight-up _die)_ whereas he’s a garbage-y frogman who can barely carry a tune, as far as he’s concerned. He does get to die gruesomely, which is cool. And Michael is his prince, which is. A thing. Michael hated the idea on principle, but Jeremy and Christine tag-teamed to convince him to audition. Hey, he has a great voice despite a lack of experience, and it’ll be fun! Everyone dies at the end!

But now Jeremy has to fall in love with him. Well, kind of. It won’t be nearly as awkward as Christine (as the Baker’s Wife) having to make out with Rich (Cinderella’s prince). But still. Reyes says that it’s because the two of them have chemistry, which is true, considering they’ve known each other their whole lives, but Jeremy also suspects that Christine told him about Jeremy’s secret crush that he _told her she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about._

Another cough courses through Jeremy’s body. Right. He’s sick. If he thought he was a shit singer before, this will at least convince everyone else.

He trudges into English class, plopping down next to Michael and putting his head down on the desk, ignoring the continuing tickle in his throat.

“Hey, you look like ass,” Michael says, shoving him lightly. Jeremy doesn’t even attempt to mumble a response. Maybe if he doesn’t use his voice now it won’t hurt when he screeches his high notes tonight. “Dude, what’s up? You didn’t die on me, did you?”

Jeremy turns his head in his arms, squashing his cheek into the extremely unsanitary desk linoleum. He shrugs.

Always the encourager, Michael smirks and says, “Were you up too late jacking off again?”

Jeremy is saved the trouble of a flustered response when he’s hit with another wave of coughing. He buries his mouth in his arm, hacking out a lung. His breath is warm against the sleeve of his sweater.

“Shit, dude. That sounds bad,” Michael says. Jeremy nods. His friend’s hand is rubbing soothing circles on his back, and despite his throat being on fire and the classroom being too cold and it being way too early in the morning, Jeremy thinks he could probably die happy right here, right now.

He doesn’t, of course, which is too bad. He really needs to not go to rehearsal today. To not sing and not talk and just stay home and maybe swallow a spoonful of honey, but then both Reyes and Christine would kill him and then dig him up to kill him again.

“Anything I can do to help?” Michael says, continuing the back rub up to the base of Jeremy’s neck, and _shit,_ Jeremy suddenly has to fight to not melt into the desk. He hums a vague acknowledgement, but it feels like sandpaper and Michael presses into his skin harder at the sound.

“I want to die,” Jeremy says. It’s raspy and faint, but at least it doesn’t hurt as much as he expected.

Michael chuckles. “Can’t help with that. I can go get you a slushie later, though.”

Michael’s laugh is so nice. Jeremy lets himself revel in the attention. Michael’s voice is warm and soothing, even as he teases, and his gentle touch is sending shivers dancing down Jeremy’s spine and he’s a smitten, coughing mess, but at least Michael’s here. “Please,” he says.

 

* * *

The cold drink does wonders. As does pretending he’s fully lost his voice during all of his classes to avoid talking. So now, he’s standing onstage, holding the remainder of a liquid snow cone, two baby dolls, and his battered script. He’s not sure how he’s supposed to have been able to have twins, considering he’s definitely not a teenage girl, but they seem to be using magic as an excuse for all of their gender-swapped Rapunzel issues. That’s less of a legal issue than changing stuff.

“Mr. Heere,” Mr. Reyes says, “You’ll be singing and then Mr. Mell, you stumble in with the blindfold on. Got it?” Michael flashes a thumbs up from the wings, and Jeremy nods, taking another sip of the slushie to soothe the tickle in his throat. No coughing in the middle of his high b flat. He’d probably die if that happened, both from embarrassment and the fact that he’d be choking on his own voice.

Reyes nods at Jake, who starts the narration, and Jeremy takes a deep breath, shooting high and hoping. It comes out all scratchy and faint and kind of out of tune, but at least nothing gives out. Jake continues and Michael stumbles in at his cue, collapsing nearly on top of Jeremy, who has to fight down both a coughing fit and a storm of giggles. This kid is going to be the death of him.

But Jake is still talking and Jeremy has to use his tears to cure Michael’s blindness or some bullshit. He scrambles to the ground next to his friend’s dramatically sobbing ass (because Michael had decided that he was going to pull King Lear into this too because they’d just read it in English and he’s going full Gloucester with his despair) and precariously sets down all the crap in his arms. Including the babies. Oops.

Fake-crying is definitely even worse on Jeremy’s voice than the singing had been, somehow, but he really can’t focus on that right now, because Michael rips off his blindfold, grinning. His hair is tousled, and his eyes are so bright without super-thick glasses to blocking them. Jeremy can’t tear his eyes away or stop smiling himself. He actually swoons and goes weak in the knees, but Michael scoops him up into a hug, steadying him, and then—wait hold on.

Michael is kissing him. This isn’t in the script.

Jeremy struggles for half a second, shocked by the sudden pressure on his lips, but it also feels so _right._ He dissolves into the embrace, kissing back and letting himself not think for once. The world has gone quiet, and even though Jeremy knows there are people watching, even though he knows they’re in the middle of a rehearsal and should probably not be breaking the scene to make out, even though he knows that _Michael_ kissed _him_ instead of the other way around and they should really _talk about this,_ it feels like his world has locked into place, and he lets himself act on instinct.

But then something claws at the back of his throat again, and he pulls away to have a coughing fit.

“Dude, what the hell?” he says between gasps for air. “I’ll get you sick!” Funny how he’s much more worried about that than the fact that _his best friend just kissed him._

Michael shrugs, a dazed smile playing across his lips as he fishes his glasses out of his hoodie pocket and puts them on, wringing the blindfold in his hands. “You caught it from me, anyway,” Michael says. And okay. If Jeremy wasn’t still struggling for breath, he would be diving back in to kiss the smug look off his face.

“Interesting choice, boys,” Reyes says, drawing Jeremy’s attention away from the inviting curve of Michael’s lips. There’s a layer of amusement in his voice, and Jeremy is even more positive that Christine’s shipping _totally_ had a hand in this casting. “But if you could _please_ stop discussing Mr. Heere’s medical condition and stay in character so we can move on.”

Jeremy hacks into his arm again, before looking at Michael. Stupid, reckless Michael who makes his heart burn so much more than his throat ever will, no matter how sick. Michael is smirking and Jeremy coughs once more, this time more out of nerves than anything, and this time accompanied by an undeniable heat rising in his face as he realizes what this might mean.

They are _so_ going to talk about this later, preferably when Jeremy isn’t sick and can kiss him properly, but for now, they do have a Witch to face.

And as much as Jeremy is glad  for the sake of his voice that they aren’t doing any scenes involving his screaming descent into insanity, he definitely needs to fight the desire to shriek at the giddy fluttering in his chest, no matter how shot his vocal chords might be.

**Author's Note:**

> Something short and silly because Into the Woods is a really fun show, and I thought it would be fun to have Jeremy be Rapunzel because that boy sounds like a dying pterodactyl even when he's not sick (@ The Squip Enters) and Rapunzel also does a lot of screaming.  
> But also I'm sick and I'm taking it out on him.  
> This idea might've ended up suiting my slow-burn tastes better if I'd shelved it for later and let it percolate, but I'm also impatient.  
> Hope it isn't as random as it feels to me!  
> This is probably too many notes.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading! I adore feedback, so please feel free to tell me what you think!


End file.
